The Tumulus Culture on the Northern Great Plain
»The Tumulus Culture on the Northern Great Plain: Current research at the Maklár microregion (NE Hungary)«
Ákos Mengyán | Hungarian National Museum; University of Miskolc
Around the middle of the second Millennium BC on the Northern Great Hungarian Plain, the multi-layered tell settlements were abandoned and followed by the emergence of the so-called Tumulus culture, which indicates changes in material culture, identity and social relations not only in this region but in vast areas in Central Europe.
In this research, two cremation cemeteries were analysed at the Maklár microregion (North-Eastern Hungary), all of which can be linked to the Tumulus culture (around 1500-1300 BC): 1) Maklár-Koszpérium with 121 burials and 2) Maklár-Nagyrét II. with 210 burials. The research aims to investigate the chronological, spatial and social relationship of the burial grounds, focusing on the analyses of the raw material and fabrication techniques of the pottery grave goods. Traditional archaeological examination of the burial rites and various grave goods was used during the research, while thin section petrography and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) were applied, specifically for ceramic analysis.